Failed products

After anything but promising conditions ahead of the meeting, and low expectations regarding its outcome, the G20 summit in St. Petersburg failed to bring about a solution to what's currently the world's most pressing political conflict: the use of chemical weapons in Syria. The G20 did bring together all important players on the big international stage - but their positions ended up seeming further apart than ever. The main divide in the Group of 20 was over the question: political solution or military action in Syria? German Chancellor Angela Merkel insisted on Friday (06.09.2013) in St. Petersburg that it was important the international community participated in exchange on the topic. There was broad consensus, she said, that a political process needed to somehow be triggered. "And I hope that countries like Russia and China will also contribute their share in trying to make a Geneva II conference happen," the Chancellor said, referring to the Mideast peace process. "But at the … [Read more...] about G20 summit fails to produce Syria solution

Nigerian labor unions representing millions of workers planned the strike to protest against a government decision to raise petrol prices by up to 67 percent, as well as scrapping the country's costly fuel subsidy scheme. It's part of the government's efforts to tackle Nigeria's worst economic crisis in decades. Ministers hoped the move would help to fund fuel imports, as Nigeria's own refinieries have been neglected for years. An earlier attempt to end the subsidies back in 2012 failed after a wave of protests. Alongside the threat of a nationwide strike, militant attacks on oil installations are driving Nigeria's petroleum production and its naira currency to new lows. To find out more, DW spoke to Dr. Aminu Umar, a Nigerian political analyst based in Abuja. DW: What does this mean for Nigeria's oil industry and production? Aminu Umar: It means liberalizing the petroleum sector fully. Over the years, petroleum, which was expected to add value to the average Nigerian, has become a … [Read more...] about Oil has failed to ‘add value to the average Nigerian’

Igor Setchin, Chief Executive of Russia's state-owned oil major Rosneft, announced Tuesday that his company will lower its daily oil production by 25,000 barrels. Setchin attributed the decision to "current market conditions," which had seen oil prices fall by 30 percent since June this year. The announcement was made following talks between Russia, Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Venezuela, which failed to find an agreement on how to address a growing oil glut. After the meeting, crude prices turned even lower, with international benchmark North Sea Brent Crude falling more than $1 (0.80 euro) a barrel to about $78. OPEC crunch meeting Two days ahead of a meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Vienna on Thursday, Russian and Mexican energy officials rushed to Vienna to push OPEC members to counter the threat of further price falls. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Rafael Ramirez told reporters after the meeting that while all sides agreed current prices were … [Read more...] about Russia to cut oil output after price talks fail

Boom! Zam! Ka-Pow! Once again, Hollywood literally had a blast. The speech bubbles from the "Fantastic Four" comics were scripted into dialogue, the cartoon characters were turned into moving images. The 2015 "Fantastic Four," released on August 7 in the US and five days later in Germany, is Twentieth Century Fox's latest production. Following a succession of recent box office megahits including "X-Men," "Hulk", "Spider-Man," "Captain America" and "Guardians of the Galaxy," producers decided to tackle the story of the four young heroes with superpowers, once again.A German first secured the rights It is the fourth film adaptation of the comic book series which first appeared in 1961 in the United States. A German, Bernd Eichinger, then renowned for producing "The Neverending Story," secured the cinematic rights to the comic series in the mid 80s. Yet the project stalled, and his rights were about to expire in the 90s. In 1993, he produced a low-budget version of "The Fantastic Four," … [Read more...] about ‘Fantastic Four’ fails to deliver the Marvel supergoods

All eyes were on Asia this Monday, as workers booted up their computers in offices all over the continent. It was the first day of work after a computer virus dubbed "WannaCry" had created havoc, mainly in Europe and Russia, spreading to thousands of computers and causing problems in hospitals, companies, and government agencies. The indiscriminate attack was unleashed Friday, striking hundreds of thousands of computers worldwide by exploiting known vulnerabilities in older Microsoft computer operating systems. US package delivery giant FedEx, Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica and Germany's Deutsche Bahn rail network were among those hit in the attacks, which demanded money to allow users to unblock their computers. Fears, predictions, and questions Would Asia, the world's most populous continent, be hit just as hard? And would there be a second round of attacks elsewhere? Tensions were high, to say the least. Over the weekend, there was no shortage of security experts … [Read more...] about ‘WannaCry’ ransomware fails to strike anew

The world has collectively failed in its bid to halt the rapid loss of the planet's species, a milestone UN report found this week. Since the presentation of the Convention on Biological Diversity in 1992 at the United Nations "Earth Summit" in Rio de Janeiro, 168 countries have signed the document. Yet according to the third Global Biodiversity Outlook, no single government has met its full range of ecological protection targets. "The consequences of this collective failure, if it is not quickly corrected, will be severe for us all," UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in the report. "Biodiversity underpins the functioning of the ecosystems on which we depend." Dr. Manfred Niekisch, director of the Frankfurt Zoo and a member of the German Advisory Council on the Environment, lamented the conclusions outlined in the UN's latest outlook. "It shows beyond question that we haven't made progress in protecting biological diversity," he said. Climate at a crossroads The third … [Read more...] about The world has failed to curb a dangerous loss of biodiversity, UN report says

Shortly after British Prime Minister Tony Blair blocked the first EU budget proposal this summer, he jumped into the EU presidency's driver's seat and promised a series of deep-seated changes to the union. In an impassioned speech in front of the European Parliament, Blair promised to get started right away with fundamental EU reforms and a debate about where the union should head. "The most important thing is to show the people where we are headed," he said. "What frustrates me a little is that we create commissions that give us answers, but then nothing happens." Ironically, Britain's critics accuse it of just that: failing to draw conclusions to recognized problems. Terror laws, development aid, expansion success Part of the EU's policy was dictated by the July terror attacks in London But Blair did manage to cross some things off his list. After July's bombing attacks in London, the British presidency got started by focusing on combating terrorism. Blair headed up … [Read more...] about British EU Presidency Tenure Fails to Impress

Analysis in the World Economic Situation and Prospects in 2009 calls for coordinated, massive and swift economic stimulus to counteract the global downturn. The UN report, which was released Monday, Dec. 1, projects a decline next year of per capita income and falling export growth and capital inflows. Higher borrowing costs for developing countries are also expected as economic woes spread from the rich economies. The report also said the US dollar is set to resume its decline, with the possibility of a hard landing in 2009. "If the present credit squeeze prolongs and confidence in the financial sector is not restored in coming months, the developed countries could enter into a deep recession in 2009," the UN report said. "This would bring economic growth in developing countries down to 2.7 percent, dangerously low for their ability to sustain poverty reduction efforts and social and political stability." Meager world output UN officials have been in Qatar discussing how … [Read more...] about Recession Threatens in 2009 if Stimulus Fails, UN Report Says

Chances of reaching a deal to cut oil production are looking slimmer for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) ahead of its Wednesday meeting in Vienna. With Iran and Iraq resisting output cuts in preliminary talks on Monday, analysts fear a failed deal could make global oil prices tumble. OPEC member countries, facing a price collapse since 2014, had outlined an agreement to cut oil production to about 32.5 to 33 million barrels per day, down from the current average of 33.64. Championed by OPEC's unofficial leader Saudi Arabia, the plan will be discussed at the Wednesday meeting. Internal disputes Iran and Iraq have their own reasons for pushing back against the cap. Iran, which had not agreed to reduce its production in September - a major concession for Saudi Arabia - is arguing that it wants to increase production. Iran feels that it had lost market share under Western sanctions while the Saudis increased output, and now hopes to … [Read more...] about OPEC deal to cut oil production put in doubt by Iran and Iraq

Qatari Energy Minister Mohammed bin Saleh al-Sada said Saturday that non-OPEC members had agreed to cut a total of 558,000 barrels of oil production per day, a little less than the 600,000 the international oil cartel, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) had hoped for. The new cuts by non-members come on top of an OPEC decision on November 30 to reduce member output by 1.2 million barrels a day. Major oil producers, such as Russia and Saudi Arabia, have seen an oil glut send down prices and lower state revenues. This is thefirst deal between the 13-country OPEC and oil producing non-members since 2001 to cut oil output together. The market's focus will now switch to compliance with the agreement as OPEC has in the past been accused of playing fast and loose with output quotas. Nigeria and Libya are exempt from the November deal due to production-denting civil strife, which places further pressure on OPEC leader Saudi Arabia to cut most. Russia, … [Read more...] about Non-OPEC members agree to cut production to boost prices